As I began to count down the days left in my village, our pit latrine project was coming to a close. The walls were going up, the roofs were being poured, and with a coat of paint we'd be done. I was so proud of everyone that had been apart of this project and stuck with it through the end. I wanted to do something special for my head craftsman, Lisu, who worked day in and day out for months. He was reliable, responsible, totally involved in the project, and was definitely proud of the work him and his assistants had completed. I had hoped that we would have some left over money and I could buy him a goat as a bonus for how incredibly hard he worked but no such luck. Instead I printed all the pictures I had taken throughout the project and assembled a photo album for him. When I gave it to him after we'd finished we went through it picture by picture and with a huge grin on his face he said, "this is the best present you could have given me, better than any money, even a goat!" He said he couldn't wait to show his wife and children, and for the first time he had a portfolio of his work from beginning to end, "now my children will always remember me and my work."
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| Lisu pictured here on the left and below on the right with me in front of our finished latrines |
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We opened the pit latrines at the first market day in July. Our project committee met together for the opening and after a few words from our Ward government officials we had celebratory soda. (I then proceeded to climb on top of the rocks nearby to see how many people would use them over the next hour or so...)
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On the homefront, we pounded out our last sunflower harvest (they worked, I ate sunflower seeds) and I made one last cake with my neighbor Lafa (who I eventually grew kind of fond of. kind of.) Saying goodbye to my neighbors and villagers was much different than I thought it was going to be. I was ready to move on, and although there were many people I grew close to, it had become such a challenging and somewhat toxic place for me, that it was time to go. There was no goodbye celebration like they said there would be, and my neighbor didn't even get off her mat on the ground to wish me a safe journey. I was truly disappointed by many people when I left, but the ones that really mattered, my neighbor kids, the women who cooked Kiki and I lunch almost everyday, my fundi Lisu, and Mama Pendo made sure I knew I'd be missed and that I mattered to them.
But the goodbyes didn't end there - the celebrations had actually just begun. Justin hosted a goat roast at his house to celebrate those of us who were also finishing up (dana, fink, me, and duncan), and my fellow singidites threw a party for me complete with cinnamon rolls, balloon trivia, and an entire bottle of Konyagi. Then I headed to Duncan's village for a few weeks as he finished up his massive water project. But the festivities would not be complete without one last trip with the whole gang. We all met up in Dar and ferried over to Zanzibar where thanks to the incredible generosity of one delightful Dutchmen, we were able to afford spending 3 days at a luxury resort on the beach and then ventured to Stone Town.
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Everyone left for the states in the days following, officially finishing their Peace Corps service and headed to a land full of ice cubes and internet. I boarded a plane shortly after to spend 5 amazing weeks with family, friends, food, and one of the best inventions ever - happy hour.
